Suffolk County residents, local Officials and countless Police Officers are uniting together in a call for peace. Local leaders want to put an end to the blame game and the segregation of Police and the African American Community. This call for peace and unity comes in the wake of the Dallas massacre and the shootings in Baton Rouge on Sunday. Just one day after three officers were slain in Baton Rouge, Commissioner Sini and the Suffolk County Police Department’s senior leadership joined alongside County Executive Bellone and a coalition of Black leaders in the community to denounce this and all violence.
While the meeting of leaders was intended to condemn violence against police officers, it was also an opportunity to open up a dialogue ensuring that the discrimination and the deaths of African Americans across the nation do not betide in Suffolk. The meeting was a first of what is hopeful to become a regular open discussion with all community leaders in culturally diverse neighborhoods.
As positive communication and an open dialogue begin here in Suffolk County, 25 police officers from our community recently made the trip to Dallas to attend the memorial services of those slain in the shooting. This gesture of mourning comes after a special service was held at the Suffolk County Police Memorial Garden at Police Headquarters for the Dallas shooting victims. The ceremony was attended by some 150 people, made up of both civilian and police communities. Another memorial wreath and ceremony took place today, for the Police Officers in Baton Rogue where Executive Bellone reiterated his commitment to keep the peace within Suffolk County.
In these last two weeks it has proved much more difficult to see something other than the worst of two separate sides on TV or a computer; be it viral Blue on Black brutality videos or protests gone wrong. But every man, woman and child can lead by example, just as our community leaders and our police department have done. Rather than repeat the same mistakes that have cost us greatly, let us stop fearing “different” and embrace originality in our neighbors and perfect strangers alike. We can chose to show a Nation that the people of our community rally as one voice, to rise above the fray.